Top 3 Ways To Destress
Stress is the silent destroyer for many of us. It creeps into our life unexpected, burrows itself inside, and then refuses to leave despite all our best efforts. Nearly of us have experiences of chronic stress that nearly drove us crazy! Stress not only feels extremely unpleasant, but also has a myriad of unwanted side effects such as fatigue, pain, and a suppressed immune system. It therefore of the utmost importance to destress whenever you get the chance! Here are the top 3 ways to do so.
Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep deprivation is easily one of the most common and severe triggers for stress. Not getting enough sleep severely hinders the body’s natural balance of neurotransmitters and endorphins for focus, energy, and mood. This can easily result in not only fatigue, but chronic stress. The brain can only process and handle so much at a time, so when you don’t get enough sleep, your brain will become overloaded and unable to process the demands you’re putting on it. This results in high stress levels!
To offset these effects, it is imperative that you get enough sleep. While everybody has a different circadian rhythm and quantity of needed sleep, most experts recommend 6-8 hours of sleep a night. This will leave you feeling well-rested as well as giving your overworked brain ample time to return to its natural homeostasis.
Eat Right
Nutrition plays a very big role both in causing and preventing stress. If you are not eating a healthy and well-balanced diet, your body will begin to miss out on key vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. This will cause it to have an inadequate fuel supply for your daily needs, resulting in physical and mental stress that will make you spiral into a cycle of unhealthy living.
To prevent this, it’s important to get into the habit of eating right. The first step is to make sure you are consuming a proper balance of macronutrients (that is, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats). Consult with your general practitioner or even a nutritionist to help you figure how much of which macronutrients you should be eating a day.
Learning to eat healthier isn’t always easy, but, in the end, your body and mind will thank you for the massive stress reduction!
Practice Mindfulness
Finally, a proven and effective way to destress is to practice mindfulness. Stress is often a result of impaired and distracted thinking which is a result of not living in the present moment. Mindfulness helps you stay in the ‘now’ and learn to keep your thoughts focused on where they belong. This has huge advantages for preventing excessive worrying and overthinking, both of which can be extreme triggers for stress.
A good way to practice mindfulness is to do breathing exercises. Basically, you just sit still and try to put 100% of your focus on counting your breaths. If you do this for 15-30 minutes a day, it won’t be long before you notice a massive level of stress relief!
